Robert A. Kozak

The Recent Evolution of Corporate Responsibility Practices in the Forestry Sector

SUMMARY Corporate responsibility is a constantly evolving concept that implies a necessary process of adaptation for businesses. This study investigated this evolution, and in particular, the changes in responsible practices by top forest companies over a five year period (2000 to 2005). The results of this study indicate that the global forestry sector seems to be moving towards a greater balance among environmental, social, and economic responsibilities. In general, the forest companies that were included in this study have been moving away from purely environmental issues to include economic and social issues in their corporate responsibility practices.

Chain of custody certification: an assessment of the North American solid wood sector

Abstract Chain of custody certification is having a growing influence in the marketplace for forest products. Chain of custody certification refers to the generic process of tracking materials from forest to market. Its growth has been promulgated by increasing channel and/or market concerns related to sourcing wood products manufactured with raw materials from environmentally certified sources. Information on how North American solid wood products companies are addressing chain of custody certification is scarce. However, it is critical for the further development of this concept. A survey of primary wood products manufacturers was conducted in order to determine the current status of chain of custody certification in Canada and the United States. Accredited certification bodies in North America were also interviewed by telephone. Results indicate that approximately 50% of solid wood producers will be certified by 2007 and that the acquisition of benefits from chain of custody certification may be a key factor in increasing adoption levels. A cluster analysis and a determinant function analysis suggest that company size is an important variable to be considered when analyzing the adoption of chain of custody certification by primary wood producers. According to these analyses, larger companies are more likely to be chain of custody certified than smaller companies. In addition, larger companies seem to be more cognizant of the benefits resulting from chain of custody certification. The costs of implementing chain of custody certification are also related to company size, with a general trend towards lower costs for larger companies.

The socio-economic contribution of non-timber forest products to rural livelihoods in Sub-Saharan Africa: knowledge gaps and new directions.

SUMMARY The majority of Sub-Saharan Africas population relies on forest products for subsistence uses, cash income, or both. In the case of non-timber forest products (NTFPs), it is imperative to 1) clearly understand the socio-economic contributions that they make to rural livelihoods in order to 2) design policies, interventions, and business ventures that serve to safeguard forest assets for the poor in a targeted manner. Based on existing literature, this article highlights the quantitative contributions that NTFPs have made to rural household incomes in several forested, Sub-Saharan African countries. Reasons for a paucity of data on this front are discussed. The article then identifies five broad socioeconomic factors (location, wealth status, gender, education, and seasonality) affecting levels of dependency on NTFPs by rural households, and calls for a better understanding of the linkages between these five factors in order for targeted policies on poverty alleviation in forest-dependent communities to be developed.

Distributor-supplier partnering relationships: A case in trust

Abstract This case examines in detail the partnership relationship between a small western Canadian distributor of western red cedar products and one of its suppliers, a large multinational forest products company. The relationships studied provide an illustration of how a high level of trust between a distributor and a supplier is gained, how it can be used to benefit both parties, and how it can be built upon and maintained.

Framing community forestry challenges with a broader lens: Case studies from the Brazilian Amazon

Community forestry initiatives have been shown to reduce rural poverty while promoting the conservation and sustainable use of forests. However, a number of challenges face communities wanting to initiate or maintain formal, community-based forest management. Through a grounded theory approach, this paper uses three case studies of community forest management models in the eastern Amazon to create a framework showing challenges faced by communities at different phases of formal management. The framework shows that, in the development phase, four root problems (land ownership, knowledge acquisition, community organization, and adequate capital) need to be addressed to obtain legal management permission. With this permission in hand, further challenges to operationalization are presented (deterring illegal loggers, maintaining infrastructure, obtaining necessary managerial skills and accessing markets). The interrelatedness of these challenges emphasizes that all challenges need to be addressed in a holistic manner for communities to maintain a profitable and self-sufficient operation. This contradicts current development approaches that only address part of this framework. The framework proposed here can be used as a starting point for community forestry initiatives in other regions.

Evaluating Social and Environmental Issues by Integrating the Legitimacy Gap With Expectational Gaps An Empirical Assessment of the Forest Industry

This article adopts an issues management approach to corporate social responsibility (CSR) implementation. Issues evaluation, which is an integral component of issues management, can be conducted by using the concept of three expectational gaps (factual, conformance, and ideal gaps). However, the concept of expectational gaps suffers from an ambiguity that limits its application to issues evaluation. The legitimacy gap concept is used in this article to clarify the ambiguity surrounding expectational gaps. The study thus develops a four-gap framework for conducting a quantitative issues evaluation. This framework is applied to six social and six environmental issues in the context of the forest products industry in the Northwest United States by means of a survey of 278 society and 94 industry respondents. Results empirically demonstrate the existence of expectational gaps and also provide insights into the nature of misalignment between societal and business perceptions along these social and environmental issues. Appropriate managerial responses are suggested to narrow or bridge different types of gaps.

Overview of the Canadian value-added wood products sector and the competitive factors that contribute to its success

In recent years, there has been considerable interest in the secondary wood manufacturing sector across Canada. Strengthening and facilitating the secondary wood manufacturing or the value-added sector is seen as the next step to creating a more sustainable economy across Canada. This research considered a large sample of secondary wood manufacturers across Canada and has provided standardized information for the entire sector. To evaluate the competitive position of the Canadian secondary wood manufacturers, two steps were undertaken. First, factors that have determined success in other sectors were identified. Second, the sector’s current business environments and the factors that contribute to its success were evaluated. The data that contributed to this research was based on a mail survey that was sent to all secondary wood manufacturers across Canada. The data indicated that the majority of businesses in this sector are small to medium enterprises (SMEs) and have common concerns that effect SMEs. Pro...

Profile Charts for Monitoring Lumber Manufacturing Using Laser Range Sensor Data

Real-time technologies using noncontact laser range sensors (LRS) have recently been introduced to improve statistical process control (SPC) programs in automated lumber mills by greatly increasing the volume of data available for SPC. However, present SPC procedures based on sampling theory developed for manual data collection do not fully utilize data from these systems. A new system of control charts is introduced here that simultaneously monitors multiple lumber surfaces and specifically targets three common sawing defects (taper, snipe/flare, and snake). Nontraditional control charts are suggested based on the decomposition of LRS measurements into trend, waviness, and roughness. The proposed charts can be used to monitor the slope parameter of a multiple linear regression model and the peak-to-peak waviness of observations from each board. Applying these methods should lead to process improvements in sawmills by better detecting common sawing problems and identifying the causes.

Extending relationship value: observations from a case study of the Canadian structural wood products industry

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to present how the construct of relationship value (RV) has the potential to help suppliers understand how to create superior value in their customer relationships and ultimately improve their competitiveness. Nowhere is this truer than in the Canadian wood products industry, where sales to its most important market, the USA, have recently been dwindling. The paper seeks to present how RV was adapted in this research context and extended over elements of scope, range of potential applications, scale of measurement, and computational techniques.Design/methodology/approach – A multiple‐case study was undertaken and consisted of the evaluation of 58 customer relationships for three wood products manufacturers.Findings – Findings highlight the necessary distinction between “value for” and “value of” customers when measuring relationship value from a supply perspective. Based on the value and orientation of exchange, a new segmentation of customer relationships emerges wh...

The Role of Government in the Development of Small and Medium Forest Enterprises: Case Studies from The Gambia

Small and medium forest enterprises (SMFEs) can contribute to poverty reduction, while promoting the sustainable use of forests. Governments have a fundamental role to play in generating the conditions necessary for these enterprises to emerge and develop. Unfortunately, the business environment in many countries is unsuitable for SMFEs. That said, The Gambia has been cited as a positive example in terms of providing an enabling environment for community forestry and as being a country where SMFEs are emerging. This qualitative research employed a multiple case study approach to examine the role of The Gambian government in catalyzing the development of SMFEs. Specifically, 16 enterprises that focus on five different activities were selected to shed light on the aspects of government activities that have either enabled or constrained them. Data indicate that The Gambian government has had a positive impact on various SMFEs with respect to the transfer of land tenure to local communities, coupled with the implementation of capacity building and support activities. However, there is room for improvement as wood-related enterprises revealed being affected by significant challenges such as corrupt practices, illegal activities and deficient enforcement.